‘Beneath the Banyan Tree’ is Well Worth the Climb (Movie Review)
Beneath the Banyan Tree
Rating: 9/10
Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q0_rDyinOZI
Director & Screenwriter: Nani Li Yang
Style: Family Drama
Time: 90 minutes
Official Site: https://www.creatics.org/cinejoy/moviepage/140425
Review by Mike Szymanski
Everyone can deal with not living up to someone’s expectations and feeling lesser-than because of it. That’s what this movie is all about.
It is done in painful, funny, and sensitive ways, told by an accomplished writer and director, Nani Li Yang, who pulled from her own experiences. She should be happy that this major accomplishment will please anyone in her life that she has to prove anything to at all. It’s a beautiful film.
For most of the characters, their acceptance and need for proving themselves are directed toward the matriarch of the family, a grandmother played by fabulous actress Ah Lei Gua.
The first scene shows a Chinese family taking a photo just before the eldest daughter Ai-Jia (played remarkably by KathyWu) is heading off to Los Angeles to become a famous writer. Her father tells her that nothing is more important than the family, and that the family is like a banyan tree that spreads out its roots. And then, her father goes for a walk and never returns.
Fast-forward 12 years later and because of a police investigation of Ai-Jia’s brother, the grandmother and the two kids of her brother are coming to stay with them. But, Ai-Jia hasn’t told her mother that her job isn’t writing for a famous magazine, but as a tour guide in Los Angeles giving the tours in Chinese, and her long-term boyfriend Vance (portrayed delightfully by Travis Goodman) is a white guy.
The cultural clashes expected that pits traditional Asian culture and modern Western culture has long been explored in other films, but this one does it better. There are also strong and overbearing mothers in a lot of ethnic-based films, but this mom is particularly biting and harsh, able to gut people with a glance and a few words.
Grandma Woo sets high expectations on her family and the people around her, and she is already disappointed in a criminal son, but also disappointed by her strong-willed daughter Ai-Jia.
Ai-Jia’s niece and nephew are difficult teens, and they are very reluctant to come to America to begin a new life. Zheng-Yu the boy and his sister Zeng-Qi have wildly different personalities. The boy is obsessed with pumping up his skinny frame into some muscles, and the girl is bratty and mean-spirited, and she seeks out the affection of bad boys in the new school.
The story follows the complications of three generations all living under the same roof and all dealing with the struggles and differences between them.
The nephew played by actor Jiayu Wang is particularly good at portraying someone who has a big secret to hide. At his new school, he befriends a jock named Raymond (a sexy actor named Scott Felix) and when their workout sessions become more intimate, their attractions for each other are exposed to the family.
Every single actor in this multi-layered family drama is a true gem, from the Chinese grandma who doesn’t speak English, to the American prospective son-in-law who doesn’t speak Chinese.
The white boyfriend Vance (Goodman) remains tolerant and upbeat even though he’s facing a matriarch who can’t stand the sight of him. He is noticing that his girlfriend is a bit testy these days too since they all moved in.
“Your mother can’t be all that bad,” Vance says before he receives a very chilly reception from her as soon as she gets off the plane.
The movie is shot with intricate details, showing the close-ups of flowers and capturing Los Angeles very well almost as a character itself.
Another fascinating character who is subtle and tender is a self-professed “freak” who lives next door. Nathan the neighbor is a blind youth who obviously tried to kill himself, but hides the marks on his wrists. He also says, “Did you ever feel like you weren’t good enough.” It’s the theme of the film.
The writer/director says, “In Chinese culture, one should put family above the individual, yet this tradition is increasingly strained today. As a Chinese immigrant myself, I witness a large group of senior immigrants in the U.S. who lack English proficiency yet migrate to be with their children. They struggle to guard their family unity and cultural beliefs in a new country.”
Nani Li Yang added, “I believe this kind of love is also found deeply entrenched in all different cultures. Through this film, not only do I want to share their unheard voice to U.S audiences but, I hope audiences can find a sense of peace and balance between their individuality and familial expectations.”
Playing the grandma, Ah-Leh Gua, is known for starring in Ang Lee’s “Eat Drink Man Woman” and “The Wedding Banquet.” Some of the themes in those two films also culminate in “Banyan.”
This movie has already earned some high accolades, such as the Visionary Award from Conquest, the Audience Award from Dances with Film, the Best Feature Writer from LA Femme International Film Festival and Best International Feature from the Chandler International Film Festival. The Paris International Film Festival awarded the movie Best Screenwriter and Best International Actress for Ah-Lei Gua, the grandmother.
In a painfully real moment, Ai-Jia tells her mother, “Why don’t you just walk away” like her father did. “No one is good enough.”
But this film “Beneath the Banyan Tree” is ore than good-enough and for filmmaker Nani Li Yang, it’s only the beginning of a blossoming career.
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